Transformations of Literacy in Computer-Mediated Communication: Orality, Literacy, Cyberdiscursivity

Noting that even the stability of “final” print texts has been questioned, Jacobsen (English, West Texas A&M U.) presents a theory of cyberdiscursivity for the indistinct boundaries of electronic discourse. He conceptualizes this theory in the context of the debate over orality-literacy as distinct world views; extends W. Ong’s 1982 characterization of these cultures as differing psychological schemas to computer-mediated communication (CMC); and shows how CMC uniquely integrates the communal nature of oral rhetoric with the individual aspect of literacy. These ideas should be of interest to those in such diverse fields as communication studies, computer science, intellectual history, and education. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)